Ambulance Services: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for an emergency ambulance response.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance response times have not met the high standards patients should expect.
We are determined to turn things around. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26 is backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, and commits to reducing category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average this year.
The latest data from December 2025 for ambulance response times in England shows progress, with category 2 incidents responded to in 32 minutes 43 seconds on average, this is 14 minutes and 43 seconds faster than the same period last year.
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